Bill H.616
188th (2013 - 2014)

An Act amending the preparation of certain ballots in the city of Boston

Bill Title: An Act amending the preparation of certain ballots in the city of Boston

By Mr. Michlewitz of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 616) of Aaron Michlewitz and Carlo Basile (with the approval of the mayor and city council) relative to providing bilingual ballots at certain polling places in the city of Boston. Election Laws. [Local Approval Received.]

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 201 of the acts of 2010 is hereby amended by striking out the following definitions:

“Chinese surname,” a surname which appears on the Lauderdale and Kestenbaum list of Chinese surnames.

“Vietnamese surname,” a surname which appears on the Lauderdale and Kestenbaum list of Vietnamese surnames.

SECTION 2. Said section 1 of chapter 201 of the acts of 2010 is hereby further amended by striking out the following: “Transliteration,” the printing of relevant Chinese characters to represent the phonetic equivalent of the syllables of an English name or a name in a language that is not traditionally written using Chinese characters,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

“Transliteration,” the translation into the relevant Chinese characters to represent the phonetic equivalent of the syllables of an English name or a name in a language that is not traditionally written using Chinese characters.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 201 of the acts of 2010 is hereby further amended by striking out section 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 4. Bilingual ballots in English and Chinese and in English and Vietnamese shall be provided in each polling place in the city where more than five percent (5%) of citizens of voting age in the precinct are members of that language minority and are limited-English proficient, as determined by the Board, or where the substantial need for such ballots is determined by the Board, taking into account objective data obtained from the most recent federal census, city records concerning utilization of or requests for bilingual ballots, and any other demographic information available to the Board, including the Lauderdale and Kestenbaum list of surnames. The Board’s determination must be made in recognition of its duty under this act to provide the necessary voter assistance to the city’s Chinese and Vietnamese speaking communities. The Board shall determine the number of ballots to be provided in each polling place in the city and shall inform the state secretary of the number of the ballots needed prior to each federal and state election by a date specified by the state secretary. Thirty (30) days prior to any primary or election, the Board shall inform the city’s Election Advisory Committee and any other bona fide non-profit agency or advocacy organization serving the relevant linguistic minority community that has registered with the Board for notification, of the numbers of bilingual ballots and the precincts in which they shall be available.

SECTION 4. Said chapter 201 of the acts of 2010 is hereby further amended by striking out sections 8 and 9, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 8. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the city in any primary or election shall be responsible for the cost of transliteration and the secretary of the commonwealth shall be responsible for all other costs including, without limitation, the production of ballots, resulting from implementation of this act.

Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders
of the Day for the next sitting for a second reading

1/15/2014

House

Read second and ordered to a third reading

1/6/2015

House

No further action taken

Petitioners:
Aaron Michlewitz, Carlo Basile

City/Town Approved: Yes
( Boston )

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